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Ikea monkey: Why the rhesus macaque is a ‘worst choice’ pet

Ability to carry deadly disease, potential aggression and skill at evading capture are some reasons why.

The jacket-wearing monkey that startled and entertained shoppers at a North York Ikea on Sunday is undeniably cute, but there are reasons that keeping one as a pet isn't a great idea. (LISA LIN PHOTO)

By Staff Reporter

Mon., Dec. 10, 2012

They were the unsung heroes of the Salk polio vaccine, possible carriers of hepatitis B and the herpes virus, and have been said to have a fondness for throwing their feces.

But the now infamous “Ikea Monkey,” a rhesus macaque, is far from the ideal pet.

Darwin was found Sunday afternoon at the North York Ikea outlet, dressed in a faux shearling coat and diaper. Keeping such an animal as a pet is illegal in Ontario, and the owner has been fined $240 and given up custody of the monkey to animal services.

It can carry deadly diseases without showing symptoms. An escaped pet rhesus monkey in South Florida was captured in October after three years on the loose. The rogue monkey was featured in a New York Times Magazine article in which the trapper said the monkey would stare him in the eye when shot with a tranquilizer and pull the dart out before escaping into the woods to sleep the drug off. Testing found it carried the hepatitis B and herpes viruses.

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The rhesus can turn aggressive and attack owners, children and other family pets. Born Free USA documents several incidents a month in which monkeys bite humans.

Toronto’s Municipal Code has the rhesus on a list of prohibited pets, punishable with a fine of up to $5,000.

But they also have a more positive history in Toronto — in the late 1950s, Connaught Labs had a rhesus monkey farm at Dufferin and Steeles to test a vaccine for the poliovirus. In 1959 alone, the lab tested 19,295 monkeys.

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